Tim Hortons' 'Duelling Donuts' contest down to two Ontario finalists

Tim Hortons' 'Duelling Donuts' contest down to two Ontario finalists

TORONTO — After weeks of voting and much pondering by a panel of judges, Tim Hortons’ “Duelling Donuts” contest has come down to the final faceoff.

The Oreo Borealis — a reinvention of the classic Nabisco cookie — will take on the Tortoise Torte, a chocolate-caramel-pecan confection, for the $10,000 grand prize. Tim Hortons spokesperson also said it was “expected” that the winner would have their doughnut recreated in stores nationwide.

The Oreo Borealis is the creation of Jason Flannery, from London, Ont.; the Tortoise Torte was dreamed up by Toronto’s Andrew Shepherd.

Canadians submitted some 63,000 entries, which were whittled down to eight doughnuts in July with the help of a panel of judges that included Beverly Hills, 90210 actor Jason Priestley.

Tim Hortons then created a batch of the fictional pastry, and asked Canada to bring their own doughnut dreams to life from any combination of ingredients in their pantries.

Among the finalists eliminated over the last few weeks of online voting are the melty-marshmallow “S’more Of It,” the banana-cream “Monkey C-Donut, Monkey Do-Nut” and the luxe remake of a classic, “Don’t Touchie My Dutchie.”